System and method for distributing personal identification numbers over a computer network

ABSTRACT

The present invention comprises a system and method for managing an inventory of PINs in a PIN distribution network. The distribution network includes a hub coupled to a one or more servers and each of the servers is coupled to at least one client terminal. The system includes a hub for dynamically allocating PINs of the inventory among the servers so as to substantially maintain a quantity of PINs at each server at a desired level for each server. Additionally, the hub acquires additional PINs in response to at least one PIN in the inventory being distributed to at least one user from at least one of the client terminals. In variations, the hub maintains centralized databases and synchronizes the centralized databases with corresponding databases at each server.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/821,405, entitled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DISTRIBUTING PERSONALIDENTIFICATION NUMBERS OVER A COMPUTER NETWORK, filed Apr. 9, 2004,which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/316,603, entitled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DISTRIBUTING PERSONALIDENTIFICATION NUMBERS OVER A COMPUTER NETWORK, filed Dec. 10, 2002 (nowU.S. Pat. No. 7,522,716), which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/619,392, filed Jul. 19, 2000 (now U.S. Pat. No.6,526,130), all of which are hereby incorporated by reference in theirentirety. This application is also related to co-pending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/821,815, entitled SYSTEM AND METHOD FORDISTRIBUTING PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION NUMBERS OVER A COMPUTER NETWORK,filed Apr. 9, 2004, which is hereby incorporated by reference in itsentirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to a system and method forallowing customers and businesses to purchase pre-paid goods andservices. The present invention more specifically relates to a systemand method for distributing personal identification numbers (PINs) foraccess to pre-paid goods and services to users over a computer network.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There currently exist “pre-paid” telephone cards that allow a customerto purchase a desired amount of long-distance telephone time from aparticular telephone service provider. These pre-paid telephone cardsare often sold by dealers such as convenience stores or wireless phonestores. Pre-paid telephone cards are also often sold in airports.Vending machines for selling pre-paid telephone cards also have beendeveloped. Each of these pre-paid telephone cards has a specificmonetary denomination. For example, a customer could purchase a $10card, a $20 card, or a $100 card. These pre-paid telephone cards aresold by particular telephone service providers such as AT&T, MCI,Sprint, etc. A customer could, for example, buy a $20 MCI card, whichwould entitle him or her to $20 worth of long-distance calling serviceprovided by MCI. These cards are referred to as “pre-paid” because thecustomer purchases the long-distance time before he or she actuallyplaces the call. This is in contrast to the more typical post-payservice that most telephone customers use with the telephone in theirresidence or office. With post-pay service, customers are sent a bill ona periodic basis. The customer pays for calls that have already beenmade, rather than calls that will be made in the future.

Frequently, the pre-paid telephone cards that are sold by dealers orvending machines are of the “scratch-off” type. After the customerpurchases a card, he or she can scratch off a layer of material, whichreveals a personal identification number (PIN). The layer of scratch-offmaterial hides the PIN from customers browsing in the store who have notpurchased the card. After a customer purchases a card and scratches offthe layer of material, the customer can then use the card to place along-distance call. When the customer wishes to place a long-distancecall, he or she dials a special number provided by the telephone serviceprovider. The customer then enters the PIN written on the card. The longdistance provider automatically debits the charge of the call from anaccount associated with the PIN.

As an example, a customer could purchase a $10 MCI card. After thecustomer rubs off the layer of material, a PIN number 129384348764 isrevealed. When the customer wishes to place a long-distance call, thecustomer dials an MCI access number. The customer then enters PIN129384348764. The long-distance carrier, MCI, identifies the PIN andrecognizes that there is $10 worth of credit in this account. If thecustomer places a call which lasts 5 minutes and costs 4$, MCI willdebit the account so that $6 remains. The next time the customer placesa call using that PIN number, the system will find that $6 remains inthe account associated with that PIN.

One problem with these pre-paid phone cards is that the cards present amajor inventory headache for dealers. There is a lot of work and expenseassociated with maintaining a filled inventory of cards. First, thedealer or vending machine operator has to predict which cards will be indemand and determine how many cards of each denomination to order foreach of various providers. The dealer then has to pay for the desiredinventory of cards up front, which requires a significant cash outlay.The dealer then has to keep track of how many cards are left in stockfor each service provider and of each different monetary denomination,and determine when to order a new batch of cards. All of these costsassociated with filled inventory can be time consuming and expensive fordealers.

Another problem is that these pre-paid telephone cards are especiallyvulnerable to theft, loss, and other inventory “shrinkage.” Because thecards are small, it is easy for a shoplifter to pocket a card unnoticed.Since these cards have a high value to them and are so easy to pocket,dealers, which sell these cards, are extremely vulnerable to inventoryshrinkage.

Vending card machines have been proposed which store personalidentification numbers (PINs) in a memory in the machine. A customer canthen purchase a pre-paid telephone PIN by inserting cash into themachine. The machine can replenish its stock of PINs when the memoryruns out of PINs or on a periodic basis by accessing a remote store ofPINs via a modem.

The problem with these vending machines is that there are stillsignificant costs associated with inventorying the PINs. The PINs areretained in a memory in the machine, which has a similar effect tostoring cards. Once a PIN has been stored in the memory of a particularmachine, that PIN becomes unavailable to be used by any other dealer,even if the PIN is never purchased. Additionally, if the machine were tobreak, or the memory were to be erased, there is a problem determiningwho is responsible for paying for the PINs that were contained in thememory. Additionally, decisions must still be made how many PINs tostore in memory, what monetary denominations to store in memory, and forwhich providers to store PINs in memory. Therefore, there are stillsignificant inventory costs associated with storing the PINs in thevending machine. Additionally, these proposed vending machines do notprovide consumers the ability to obtain a PIN from the convenience oftheir homes or offices.

Another system, which has been proposed, is a web site, which isaccessed over the Internet. A customer can go to this web site andpurchase pre-paid telephone service. A PIN is then e-mailed to thecustomer's e-mail address. The problem with this service is that acustomer must be able to access his or her e-mail account in order toobtain the PIN. Additionally, e-mail is often unsecure. If a computerhacker is “listening in” on an individual's email, then the hacker cansteal the PIN and use it for his own purposes. Additionally, if acustomer is purchasing a PIN in a convenience store or an airport, thecustomer will probably not have access to his or her e-mail account. Thecustomer may have to wait to return to his or her home or office toaccess the PIN. Additionally, e-mail can sometimes be slow and it maytake hours or days to retrieve the message from the customers InternetService Provider (ISP).

What is needed is a secure system that provides PINs for pre-paid goodsand services conveniently to customers. What is also needed is a systemthat relieves dealers such as convenience stores and vending machineoperators from the costs associated with maintaining a filled inventoryof pre-paid cards and PINs. What is also needed is a system that allowsconsumers to select from a wide-range of providers and monetarydenominations without requiring the dealer to maintain a large filledinventory of cards or predict which type of cards or PINs to order. Whatis also needed is a secure system for selling pre-paid goods andservices, which is less vulnerable to theft and other inventoryshrinkage. What is also needed is a system that can perform real-timedistribution and accounting of personal identification numbers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment, the invention can be characterized as a system fordistributing personal identification numbers (PINs). The system includesa plurality of client terminals, each of said plurality of clientterminals being capable of requesting and receiving PINs, and the systemincludes a plurality of servers operatively coupled to said plurality ofclient terminals, each of said servers including a corresponding one ofa plurality of PIN inventories, wherein each of said servers is capableof sending PINs to at least one of said plurality of client terminals.The system also includes a hub operatively coupled to each of saidservers, wherein said hub is configured to send PINs to each of saidplurality of servers for inclusion within said PIN inventories.

In another embodiment, the invention can be characterized as a methodfor distributing personal identification numbers (PINs) through adistribution network including a plurality of servers, each of saidservers being operatively coupled to at least one of a plurality ofclient terminals. The method including: receiving at a hub, from one ofsaid plurality of servers, a request for a quantity of PINs; sendingfrom said hub said quantity of PINs to said one of said plurality ofservers wherein each of said plurality of servers is configured to sendPINs to at least one of said plurality of client terminals; requestinganother quantity of PINs from another one of said plurality of servers;and receiving at said hub said other quantity of PINs from said otherone of said plurality of servers.

In a further embodiment, the invention may be characterized as a method,and means for carrying out the method, for managing an inventory of PINsin a PIN distribution network. The distribution network includes a hubcoupled to a plurality of servers, and each of the servers is coupled toat least one of a plurality of client terminals, the method comprising:dynamically allocating PINs of said inventory of PINs among saidplurality of servers so as to substantially maintain a quantity of PINsat each server at a desired level for each server; and acquiringadditional PINs at the hub in response to at least one PIN in saidinventory being distributed to at least one user from at least one ofsaid plurality of client terminals.

In yet another embodiment, the invention may be characterized as amethod of distributing a personal identification number (PIN) through aclient terminal. The method including: generating, at a server, arequest for a PIN; transmitting said request for said PIN from theserver to a hub; receiving said PIN at said server from said hub;receiving, at said server, a client request for said PIN, wherein saidclient request is generated at said client terminal and transmitted tosaid server; and sending said PIN to said client terminal in response tosaid client request.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram of a system architecture suitable forimplementing a method of distributing PINS;

FIG. 2A depicts a picture of a dealer-located embodiment of a clientterminal;

FIG. 2B depicts an automated kiosk embodiment of a client terminal;

FIG. 2C depicts a personal computer embodiment of a client terminal;

FIG. 3 depicts a simplified example of a database record;

FIGS. 4A and 4B depict a flowchart illustrating a method of purchasingone or more PINs;

FIG. 5 depicts a flowchart illustrating a method of operating a clientterminal;

FIG. 6 depicts an example of a display allowing the user to choose aprovider;

FIG. 7 depicts an example of a display allowing the user to choose amonetary denomination;

FIG. 8 depicts an example of a display showing the user rate andexpiration information;

FIG. 9 depicts an example of a display allowing the user to choose aquantity of cards;

FIG. 10A depicts an example of a display screen requesting payment fromthe user;

FIG. 10B depicts an example of a display screen showing the user his orher purchased PIN(s);

FIG. 11 depicts a flowchart illustrating a method of using a PIN toaccess telephone service;

FIG. 12 depicts a flowchart illustrating a method of using a PIN at agas station;

FIG. 13 depicts an example display screen for allowing a user to log-into a purchase ordering system;

FIG. 14 depicts an example of a display screen shown to a user forentering data into a purchase order;

FIG. 15 depicts an example of a purchase order summary screen;

FIG. 16 depicts an example of a screen shown to a user for enteringalternate credit card information;

FIG. 17 depicts an example of a purchase receipt summary screen for thepurchase ordering system;

FIG. 18 shows an example of a prepaid cellular PIN receipt/ticket;

FIGS. 19A and 19B shows an example of a more detailed database record;

FIG. 20 is an overview of a system architecture incorporating a hostconnection manager;

FIG. 21 is an overview of another system architecture incorporating hostconnection managers;

FIG. 22 is a schematic diagram of the structure of one embodiment of thehost connection managers described with reference to FIGS. 20 and 21;

FIG. 23 is a flow chart depicting steps carried out by the hostconnection manager of FIG. 22;

FIG. 24 is an overview of a cooperative inventory system incorporating ahub according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 25 is a schematic diagram of the structure of one embodiment of theservers described with reference to FIG. 24;

FIG. 26 is a schematic diagram of the structure of one embodiment of thehub described with reference to FIG. 24;

FIG. 27 is a flowchart depicting steps carried out by the server of FIG.25 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 28 is a flowchart depicting steps carried out by the hub of FIG. 26according to an exemplary embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention may be best understood in light of the subjectmatter of co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 10/316,603 entitled:SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DISTRIBUTING PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION NUMBERS OVERA COMPUTER NETWORK, which is described herein with reference to FIGS.1-19 and incorporated by reference. As one of ordinary skill in the artwill recognize, many of the aspects of the systems and methods describedwith reference to FIGS. 1-19 are capable of being incorporated into theembodiments of the present invention.

This co-pending application describes a system and method which allows acustomer to purchase pre-paid amounts of any good or service, such astelephone service, gasoline, electricity, dry-cleaning, bus service,subway service, magazines, newspapers, or bundled goods and services.After the customer purchases a pre-paid amount of a good or service, thecustomer receives a personal identification number (PIN), which isdownloaded in real-time over a network such as the Internet. The PIN isprovided over the network “on-demand,” meaning that the PIN isdownloaded over the network immediately or very soon after receiving arequest and payment from the customer. The PIN is downloaded over anetwork in response to the customer's request, not delivered to thecustomer hours or days after the request. The PIN is not stored locallyat the client terminal used by the customer, but is downloaded over theInternet, thus eliminating any inventory tasks or costs associated withmaintaining a filled inventory for the dealer. After the customerreceives the PIN, the customer can then use this PIN at any convenienttime to access the desired good or service.

The above-identified co-pending application thus provides “virtualinventory” of pre-paid cards because it removes all the burdens ofinventorying pre-paid cards from the dealer. Additionally, it provides“virtual distribution” of telephone cards, because the service providersno longer have to manufacture pre-paid cards and distribute them to thedealers. Because the PINs are delivered on-demand, there is a real-timedistribution and accounting. Additionally, there is an elimination ofthe inventory shrinkage problem created by the loss, and theft ofpre-paid cards.

Moreover, the above-identified co-pending application describes a systemand method for providing a personal identification number (PIN) to aclient terminal over a computer network. The described system and methodeliminates all costs associated with filled inventory for dealersselling PINS. For example, a server receives a request for a PIN over anetwork, the request originating from a user at a client terminal. Therequest is associated with a requested monetary unit and a requestedprovider. The server retrieves from a database a PIN associated with therequested monetary unit and requested provider. The server transmits theretrieved PIN to the client terminal over the network, wherein the PINis transmitted to the client terminal on-demand in response to thecustomer's request. No inventory of PINs is stored at the clientterminal. All transmissions between the client terminal and the serverare by secure transmission to prevent an eavesdropper from stealing thePIN(s).

The PIN can be used for accessing pre-paid telephone service.Alternatively, the PIN can be used for accessing other pre-paid goodsand services such as gasoline, magazines, subway service, etc.

The server can transmit to the client terminal a plurality of productsor services available. The server then receives from a user at theclient terminal a selection of one of the available products orservices. The server transmits to the client terminal a plurality ofprovider names for the requested product or service. The server receivesfrom a customer at the client terminal a selection of one of theavailable provider names. The server transmits to the client terminal aplurality of monetary denominations available for the requestedprovider. The server receives from the client terminal a selection ofone of the available monetary denominations. The server transits to theclient terminal a plurality of regions available for the requestedprovider. The server receives from the client terminal a selection ofthe one of the available regions. The server can receive a request fromthe client terminal to view rate information. The server then transmitsrate information to the client terminal.

The user is then prompted at the client terminal to enter payment forthe requested PIN. The user can enter payment a) inserting cash into areceptacle at the client terminal, or b) entering credit card or debitcard or smart card information or swiping a card through a receptacle,or c) paying cash to an operator associated with the client terminal. Ifthe user pays a dealer, the dealer remits a portion of the payment to anaccount associated with the server by a) transferring funds from adealer's account into the account associated with the server by anelectronic funds transfer, or b) charging a portion of the payment to adealer's credit account, or c) charging a portion of the payment to adealer's credit card.

After the user pays for one or more PINs, the client terminal prints areceipt for the customer, the receipt including the requested PIN numberand instructions for using the PIN. Additionally, a purchase orderingmethod is described in the above-identified pending application wherebya dealer can buy PINs in bulk and receive a wholesale discount. Thedealer can place multiple individual purchase orders at once, eachindividual purchase order associated with a requested provider, arequested monetary denomination, and a requested number of PINs. Thesystem of the above-identified co-pending application allows a customerto purchase pre-paid amounts of any good or service, such as telephoneservice, gasoline, electricity, dry-cleaning, bus service, subwayservice, magazines, newspapers, or bundled goods and services. After thecustomer purchases a pre-paid amount of a good or service, the customerreceives a personal identification number (PIN), which is downloaded inreal-time over a network such as the Internet. The PIN is provided overthe network “on-demand,” meaning that the PIN is downloaded over thenetwork immediately or very soon after receiving a request and paymentfrom the customer. The PIN is downloaded over a network in response tothe customer's request, not delivered to the customer hours or daysafter the request. The PIN is not stored locally at the client terminalused by the customer, but is downloaded over the Internet, thuseliminating any inventory tasks or costs associated with maintaining afilled inventory for the dealer. After the customer receives the PIN,the customer can then use this PIN at any convenient time to access thedesired good or service.

The system of the above-identified co-pending application thus provides“virtual inventory” of pre-paid cards because it removes all the burdensof inventorying pre-paid cards from the dealer. Additionally, itprovides “virtual distribution” of telephone cards, because the serviceproviders no longer have to manufacture pre-paid cards and distributethem to the dealers. Additionally, there is an elimination of theinventory shrinkage problem created by the loss and theft of pre-paidcards.

FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram of a system for distributing PIN numbers.Easywireless.com server 102 is coupled to network 104. Server 102 can beany large computer or network device. The name “Easywireless.com” usedherein in conjunction with server 102 is used by way of example only,and is not intended to in any way limit the range of servers that can beused. For purposes of example only, “Easywireless.com” server 102 refersto a server associated with the company Easywireless, Inc.

Network 104 can be any network connecting computers such as theInternet. Client terminals 106, 108, and 110 are running browserprograms 128, 130 and 132, respectively. Browsers 128, 130, and 132 areany program that allows client terminals 106, 108, and 110 to accessEasywireless.com server 102 over network 104.

Easywireless.com server 102 contains RAM 114, ROM 116, CPU 118, and datastorage device 120. CPU 188 runs the software, which is operating themethod depicted in FIG. 2. Data storage device 120 contains a personalidentification number (PIN) database 112. PIN database 112 stores PINs,which are available for purchase by customers. The PIN provides accessto a pre-paid amount of a good or a service. PIN database 112 isdescribed in more detail with respect to FIG. 3.

Data storage device 120 also includes client terminal records 122.Client terminal records store information concerning where clientterminals are located. Client terminal records 122 can store anyinformation specific to specific client terminals, such as previouspurchase history, payment and account information, and terminalpreferences.

Data storage device also includes customer records 123. Customer records123 provide information unique to individual customers. For example, aswill be discussed later with respect to FIG. 2C, customers can accessEasywireless.com server 102 through a home personal computer. Customerscan identify themselves and provide identifying information.Easywireless.com 102 can use this information to provide better serviceto the customer, to target advertising to the customer, or to storepayment or' credit accounts. When a customer accesses Easywireless.comserver 102 from a client terminal in a retail store, in most instancesthe customer will prefer to remain anonymous. In this case,Easywireless.com server 102 will not store any customer information incustomer records 123.

Data storage device 120 also contains provider records 124. Theserecords contain information pertinent to providers who are providingPINs for PIN database 112. For example, these records can containaddresses, billing information, and telephone numbers. Data storagedevice 120 also contains advertising records 126. Advertising records126 contain information about advertising banners and links that can beprovided to client terminals 106, 108 and 110 as an additional source ofrevenue.

Because the PINs are valuable and could be subject to theft and copyingby electronic piracy, communications network 104 betweenEasywireless.com server 102 and client terminals 106, 108 and 110 isprotected by the use of encrypted communications and well-known securitytechniques. Client. terminals 106, 108, and 110 can provide securitycertificates to Easywireless.com server 102 to authenticate theirtransmissions.

FIGS. 2A-2C depict three alternative physical embodiments of clientterminals 106, 108 and 110. FIG. 2A depicts a physical embodiment, whichis used in a typical checkout counter of a store, such as a conveniencestore. Client terminal 200 of this embodiment includes a touch-screen204. Various options appear on touch-screen 204, which a customer mayactivate by touching an appropriate location on touch-screen 204. Acustomer makes payment by paying cash to a store clerk operating cashregister 202. Alternatively, a customer can pay with a credit card byswiping a credit card through credit card slot 208. Buttons 206 can beused by the customer in addition to touch-screen 204 to make additionalselections, such as choosing a particular type of credit card.

FIG. 2B depicts an alternative physical embodiment for the clientterminal, automated kiosk 210. Automated kiosk 210 includes atouch-screen 212. Credit card receptor 214 allows a consumer to submitpayment by inserting a credit card. Alternatively, the customer caninsert bills into bill receptor 218, or coins into coin receptor 220.The customer can optionally make selections by entering data on keypad216 in addition to making selections with touch-screen 212.

FIG. 2C depicts another alternative physical embodiment for a clientterminal. Personal computer 222 can be used in the convenience of acustomer's home or office to access the Easywireless.com web server, byentering an appropriate URL in the customer's browser (for example,http://www.Easywireless.com). The customer can then purchase PIN(s) fromEasywireless.com from the customer's personal computer 222.

FIG. 3 depicts a simplified example of records within PIN database 112.Another, more detailed example of records within PIN database 112 isdescribed later with respect to FIGS. 19A and 19B. PIN database 112stores PINs, which are available for purchase by customers. PIN database112 contains records 312. Good/Service field 301 specifies the name of agood or service, which is available for pre-paid purchase. For example,records 312 a-312 p shown in FIG. 3 contain PINs, which provide accessto pre-paid cellular service. Records 312 q-r shown in FIG. 3 containPINs, which provide access to pre-paid gasoline. Other goods andservices can be also be included in PIN database 112 such aselectricity, cable service, satellite TV, etc.

Provider field 302 contains the name of the particular good or serviceprovider associated with the record. For example, FIG. 3 shows recordsfor AT&T, AIRTOUCH, SPRINT, and MOBIL. Value field 304 specifies thedollar value associated with each record.

For example, record 312 h provides a customer with $50 of pre-paidcellular service from AIRTOUCH. PIN field 306 specifies the PIN, whichis provided to the customer and allows access to the good or service.Rate field 308 specifies a rate associated for each record. For example,for cellular telephone service rate field 308 specifies the calling rateassociated with the record. In the example PIN database 112 shown inFIG. 3, rate field 308 is not used for gasoline records 312 q and 312 r,since the gasoline rate is determined at the pump.

Expiration field 310 contains an expiration date beyond which the PINfor that record will no longer be valid. Other fields may also be added.Some fields may be particular to a specific good or service. Forexample, if gasoline is being sold then there may be a field for“Octane” which specifies the octane level of gasoline being purchased.

FIG. 4A depicts a flowchart illustrating a method of operatingEasywireless.com server 102. Initially, in step 400, theEasywireless.com server receives a request from a customer to begin. Forexample, a customer entering a retail store approaches client terminal200 shown in FIG. 2A. A “BEGIN” Window displayed on touch-screen 204reads “Touch here to begin.” The customer approaches the touch-screen204 and touches the BEGIN Window. This sends a request to begin toEasywireless.com server 102. In step 402, in response to receiving arequest to begin, Easywireless.com server 102 transmits to the clientterminal a list of products and services offered. For example,Easywireless.com server 102 could transmit: 1) cellular telephoneservice, 2) long-distance telephone service, 3) electricity, 4)gasoline, and so on. All of these goods and services would be availableto the customer to purchase on a pre-paid basis. The list of productsand services transmitted to the client terminal appears, for example, ontouch-screen 204 shown in FIG. 2A. The customer then touches a desiredgood or service on touch-screen 204. This sends a request for the chosengood or service back to Easywireless.com server 102. For example, thecustomer selects “cellular telephone service.”

In step 404, Easywireless.com server 102 receives the request from theclient terminal for the chosen good or service. In this example,Easywireless.com server 102 receives a request for cellular telephoneservice. In step 406, the Easywireless.com server 102 transmits to theclient terminal a list of providers for the requested good or service.For example, if the customer has requested cellular telephone service,Easywireless.com server 102 transmits a list of: AT&T, AIR TOUCH, andSPRINT. The customer then selects one of these offered providers bytouching an option on touch-screen 204. This would send a request backto Easywireless.com server 102 for a particular requested provider. Forexample, the customer could select “AIRTOUCH.”

In step 408, Easywireless.com server 102 receives the customer's requestfor the particular provider requested.

In step 409, Easywireless.com server 102 transmits to the clientterminal a list of regions for the requested good or service. Forexample, if the customer requested “AIRTOUCH” in step 408, thenEasywireless.com server 102 would transmit a list of regions such as“AIRTOUCH NORTHEASTERN U.S.,” or “AIRTOUCH NEW YORK CITY METROPOLITANREGION,” OR “AIRTOUCH PACIFIC REGION,” etc. In step 410,Easywireless.com server 102 receives the customer's request for aparticular region.

In step 411, Easywireless.com server transmits a list of pre-paidmonetary denominations offered. For example, if a request for “AIRTOUCH”is received, Easywireless.com might offer pre-paid cellular service forAIRTOUCH in the following monetary denominations: $10, $20, $50, and$100. Thus, a customer could choose to buy a $50 “virtual” phone card,which would provide him or her with $50 of pre-paid cellular service.

The Easywireless.com server 102 can determine what monetarydenominations are available by one of the following methods. As a firstmethod, Easywireless.com server 102 checks provider records 124, andlooks up the record corresponding to the chosen provider (for example,AIRTOUCH). Easywireless.com 102 then checks a field of the providerrecord to determine what monetary values are offered. As a secondmethod, Easywireless.com server 102 checks PIN database 112, anddetermines what types of monetary denominations are available. Forexample, Easywireless.com server 102 can determine that it is presentlyout of stock of $50 AIRTOUCH PINs, but Easywireless.com server 102 hasavailable $10 PINs, $20 PINs, and $100 PINs.

As an example, the customer could choose to purchase a $50 PIN fromAIRTOUCH. The customer would receive a PIN, which would allow him or herto purchase $50 of cellular telephone service. As an alternative totransmitting a list of offered monetary denominations, in step 410, thecustomer could alternatively be allowed to simply type in at a keypad adesired amount of service that he or she desires. For example, a messagewould appear on touch-screen, 204 stating “TYPE IN AN AMOUNT OF PRE-PAIDSERVICE YOU WISH TO PURCHASE.” The customer could then type in, forexample, $50. Easywireless.com server 102 could then check PIN database112 to see if it had any $50 PIN denominations available. If there wasno $50 PINs available, Easywireless.com server 102 could, for example,transmit a message stating, “THERE ARE NO $50 PINS AVAILABLE. WOULD YOULIKE TO PURCHASE A $40 PIN OR A $75 PIN?” Alternatively,Easywireless.com server 102 could transmit a message stating “THERE ARENO $50 PINS AVAILABLE FOR AIRTOUCH. HOWEVER, SPRINT AND MCI OFFER $50PINS FOR CELLULAR TELEPHONE SERVICE. WOULD YOU LIKE TO PURCHASE FROM ONEOF THESE PROVIDERS?”

The customer can also be given an option to “View Rates.” If thecustomer chooses this option, then a request to view rates is sent tothe Easywireless.com server 102. In step 412, the request is received byEasywireless.com server 102. In step 414, Easywireless.com server 102transmits rate information to the client terminal. For example, the rateinformation could specify that a $100 “virtual” pre-paid phone cardpurchased from AIRTOUCH has a cellular calling rate of $0.35 per minute,and the PIN expires in 6 months. A $5& virtual pre-paid phone cardpurchased from AIRTOUCH has a cellular calling rate of $0.40 per minute,and the PIN expires in 8 months. Providers may choose to offer lowerrates for larger pre-paid purchases as a high volume discount. Furtherinformation can also be requested and provided to the customer dependingon the particular product or service purchased. For example, if thecustomer is purchasing gasoline, the customer could request currentprice per gallons at various gas station locations for various octanelevels.

In step 416, Easywireless.com server 102 receives from the clientterminal a request for one of the available monetary denominations. Forexample, the customer could select an option to purchase a $50 PIN fromAIRTOUCH by touching the appropriate option on touch-screen 204.

In step 418, Easywireless.com prompts the customer at the clientterminal to make payment for the requested PIN. Payment can be made bythe customer in a number of ways. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2A,the customer can pay the dealer by cash, credit card, debit card, smartcard or any similar method (the customer pays a cashier behind cashregister 202). Once the customer pays the dealer, then the dealer musttransfer a portion of the payment to Easywireless.com Payment can beapportioned and transferred between the dealer and Easywireless.com by anumber of methods. Some example methods:

First method “ACH WALLET”: The dealer has a special account set up withEasywireless.com. The dealer stores money in the account before the PINis purchased. Immediately before a customer purchases one or more PINs,the dealer pays a portion of the payment to Easywireless.com bytransferring money from the dealer's account to Easywireless.com by ACH(automated clearing house) electronic funds transfer. This method ofpayment is referred to as “ACH wallet.”

Second method “CREDIT ACCOUNT”: The dealer has a credit account withEasywireless.com. The dealer is allowed a predetermined amount of creditbased on the creditworthiness of the dealer. When a customer pays forone or more PINs, a portion of the payment is charged to the dealer'scredit account. The dealer is then billed later for the amount charged.

Third method: The dealer simply provides credit card information toEasywireless.com. When customer purchases one or more PINs, a portion ofthe payment is charged to the dealer's credit card.

Fourth method: The customer's credit card information (or debit card, orsmart card) is sent directly to Easywireless.com. Easywireless.com thencharges the customer's credit card and sends a portion of the paymentback to the dealer.

As will be understood by one skilled in the art, the above methods areby example only and there are a multitude of ways that payment can bearranged between the dealer and Easywireless.com. All of these methodsdo have one thing in common, however. The PIN is sent byEasywireless.com right after a payment is made (either by cash orcredit). This makes the delivery of the PIN “on demand” and eliminatescosts associated with filled inventory. Because the PIN is sent rightafter payment is made, the dealer has no costs associated with filledinventory. For example, the dealer does not have to contactEasywireless.com at the beginning of each month and order $10,000 worthof cards. The dealer does not have to predict which cards will bepopular, and how many cards to order of each type. Payment for the PINis charged at the time of each transaction, and thus the dealer has nofilled inventory costs.

In the automated kiosk embodiment shown in FIG. 2B, the customer canenter payment by swiping a credit card through credit card receptor 214,or inserting cash into bill receptacle 218 or coin receptacle 220. Usingthe personal computer of FIG. 2C, the customer can enter payment bytyping in his or her credit card information.

After payment has been received and verified in step 418, then in step420 Easywireless.com server retrieves a PIN from the database having theappropriate characteristics selected by the customer. For example, ifthe customer chose to purchase a $50 virtual pre-paid phone card forpre-paid cellular telephone service from AIRTOUCH, then Easywireless.comserver 102 could retrieve record 312 f shown in FIG. 3. In step 422,Easywireless.com web server transmits PIN 0948574995 (this PIN is shownin PIN field 306 of exemplary record 312 f in FIG. 3) to the customer atthe client terminal. Once a PIN has been retrieved from PIN database 112and transmitted to the customer, the PIN record is marked as sold andunavailable from PIN database 112 so that it will not be sent to anothercustomer. Alternatively, the PIN record can be marked as used, so thatit will not be retrieved for another customer.

Easywireless.com web server 102 also transmits any instructionsnecessary to use the PIN. For example, Easywireless.com can transmit atelephone access number, which the customer needs to dial before placinga cellular telephone call and entering the PIN. The telephone accessnumber and other instructions will be unique for each provider. Theseinstructions can either be stored in each individual record 312 in PINdatabase 112, or the instructions can be stored in provider records 124.

The customer could also request to receive multiple PINs. For example,the customer could purchase 3 $50 PINs for AIRTOUCH cellular telephoneservice. After the customer enters $150 in payment, Easywireless.comserver 102 transmits 3 $50 PINs to the customer at the client terminal.

At step 424, the client terminal prints out a receipt for the customer.The receipt includes the requested PIN(s) purchased by the customer, andany instructions for using the PIN such as a telephone access number.The receipt can also contain advertisements. Advertisers payEasywireless.com for the opportunity to have their ads displayed onreceipts. The receipt is a printed piece of paper. Alternatively, thereceipt could be in the form of a plastic card. Easywireless.com server102 then returns back to the first step 400, waiting for the nextcustomer to request to “BEGIN”.

FIG. 5 depicts a flowchart illustrating a method of operation of clientterminals 106, 108, 110 (shown in FIG. 1), 200, 210, and 222 (shown inFIG. 2). FIGS. 6-10 show exemplary displays to be shown on the screen ofthe client terminal. The method of operation will now be described withreference to the flowchart of FIG. 5 and the screens shown in FIGS.6-10.

In step 500, a window appears which states “TOUCH HERE TO BEGIN.” Thecustomer can begin by touching the touch-screen 204 or 212 in theappropriate location. If the customer has accessed the Easywireless.comweb server 102 by using personal computer 222, the customer can begin byentering an appropriate URL into the browser (such ashttp://www.easywireless.com). This would bring the customer to theEasywireless.com web page running on Easywireless.com server 102. Thecustomer could click on a link labeled “BEGIN” to begin the purchaseprocess.

In step 501, the client terminal displays list of offered goods andservices, such as cellular telephone service, gasoline, electricity,dry-cleaning, etc. The customer can then choose one of these goods orservices to purchase. Assume, for this example, that the customer hasselects “cellular telephone service”. In step 502, the customer isprovided with a list of providers for the chosen good or service andasked to choose a provider. FIG. 6 shows an exemplary screencorresponding to step 502 (assuming that the customer has selected“cellular telephone service”). Touch-screen 600 displays browser window604. Four service provider options are shown: AIR TOUCH option 608,PRIMUS option 606, SPRINT option 610 and AT&T option 612. For thepurposes of this example, assume that a customer touches AIRTOUCH option608.

In step 504, the display screen displays virtual cards of variousmonetary options, which are offered, for the chosen good or serviceprovider (which in this example is AIRTOUCH). FIG. 7 shows an exemplarydisplay screen corresponding to step 504. Four possible monetarydenominations may be selected. The customer can choose the $15 option708, $30 option 706, $50 option 710, or $100 option 712.

In step 506, the display screen displays rate information, if desired bythe customer. The customer is given the option of viewing rates bytouching the VIEW RATES option 714 shown in FIG. 7. If the customerdecides to touch VIEW RATES option 714, then in step 506, the screendisplays calling rates, card expiration dates, or any other informationapplicable to the chosen good or service, or specific to the particulargood or service provider chosen. For example, if the customer who haschosen to purchase AIRTOUCH cellular service, touches the VIEW RATESoption 714, then FIG. 8 shows an exemplary screen. Information window800 provides a number of information fields. Card value field 802displays the various virtual card monetary values offered. Local ratesfield 804 displays the calling rate per minute for each card value.Expiration field 806 displays the expiration date beyond which the PINis no longer usable. As shown in FIG. 8, AIRTOUCH offers a discount forhigher value card purchases. In other words, the calling rate goes downfor higher card value purchases. By touching the continue field 808, thecustomer can return to the screen shown in FIG. 7.

In FIG. 7, the customer selects a particular monetary denominationoffered by touching the screen in an appropriate location. In thisexample, assume that the customer has chosen the $100 virtual cardoption 712. This brings up the display shown in FIG. 9. In step 508, thecustomer is given the choice of how many cards he or she wishes topurchase. The quantity of cards window 908 in FIG. 9 displays the numberof virtual cards to be purchased. The customer can touch arrow 910 toincrement the number of virtual cards to be purchased. The number ofcards to be purchased is shown in box 912. The customer can touch arrow914 to decrement the number of virtual cards to be purchased. Field 900and virtual card 906 display the monetary value of the virtual card thatwas chosen by the customer. Local rates field 902 displays the callingrate for the chosen virtual card. Expiration field 904 displays when thevirtual card will expire.

If the customer changes his or her mind, and wishes to purchase a cardwith a different value, the customer can return to the screen shown inFIG. 7 by touching the CHANGE CARD field 918. Otherwise, the customercan proceed by touching the CONTINUE field 916. This brings up thedisplay shown in FIG. 10A, corresponding to step 510. Field 1000displays the total purchase price. Since the customer has requested topurchase two pre-paid virtual $100 cards from AIR TOUCH, the totalpurchase price is $200. Field 1002 instructs the customer to insertpayment. This message could alternatively tell the customer to entercredit card information, swipe a credit card, a debit card, a smartcard, or pay cash to a cashier depending on the particular clientterminal being used and/or a chosen method of payment.

In step 512, payment is received from the customer. After payment hasbeen received and verified, Easywireless.com server 102 retrieves therequested PIN(s) from PIN database 112 and transmits the requestedPIN(s) to the client terminal in step 514. The PIN(s) can be displayedon the screen as shown in FIG. 10 b, field 1004. Message 1006 informsthe customer to take a receipt. A receipt is printed out in step 516.The receipt will contain the requested PIN(s) and any instructionsnecessary for using the PIN such as an access number to call. If privacyis a concern, it might be preferable not to display the PINs on thescreen, but instead to only print the PINs on the receipt.

FIGS. 11 and 12 depict a flowchart illustrating a method of using thePIN once the customer has received the PIN from Easywireless.com server102. FIG. 11 shows an exemplary method, which assumes that the customerhas purchased pre-paid telephone service. As an example, assume that acustomer has purchased $50 of pre-paid telephone service. A receipt wasprinted out for the customer providing a PIN and a telephone accessnumber. In step 1100, the customer dials the access number, which wasprovided on the receipt. Typically, the access number is specific to thechosen service provider. For example, if the customer has previouslypurchased $50 of pre-paid telephone service from AIRTOUCH, the customerwill be given an AIRTOUCH access number. When the customer dials theaccess number, the customer's call will be routed to a switch operatedby AIRTOUCH. The access number is preferably a toll-free 1-800 number ora local number. In step 1102, the customer is prompted to dial thedestination number that he or she wishes to call. In step 1104, thecustomer is prompted to enter a PIN, which was printed out, on thereceipt. The customer then dials in his or her PIN. An AIRTOUCH serverthen checks a PIN account for the entered PIN. In step 1106, theAIRTOUCH server checks to see how much money is remaining in theaccount. If there is enough money left in the pre-paid account to placethe desired call, then the call to the destination number is placed instep 1108. While the call is continuing, the PIN account is debited inaccordance with the calling charges. In step 1110, if the account valuereaches zero, the customer is informed that a new PIN must be purchasedor additional payment must be made. As an option, the customer can beallowed to dial in a credit card number to continue with the call.

FIG. 12 depicts a flowchart illustrating a similar method to FIG. 11.However, FIG. 12 depicts an example where the customer has purchasedpre-paid gasoline. For this example, assume that a customer haspreviously purchased $50 of pre-paid MOBIL gasoline. A receipt wasprinted out for the customer providing a PIN. In step 1200, the customerarrives at a local MOBIL gas station. The customer uses a keypad anddisplay screen at a self-service pump. The customer pushes a buttonindicating that he or she wishes to pay with a pre-paid PIN account. Instep 102, the customer is prompted to enter a PIN. The customer entersthe PIN for which he or she pre-paid. The PIN is sent to a serveroperated by MOBIL. The server checks a PIN account for that PIN todetermine how much money is remaining in the account. If there is moneyleft in the pre-paid account, then the customer is told to beginpumping. The pre-paid PIN account is then debited in accordance withcharges for the gasoline pumped. If the account reaches zero, thecustomer is informed that additional payment must be made.

Easywireless.com server 102 essentially serves as a PIN warehouse. Theoperators of Easywireless.com server 102 can obtain PINs from variousproviders in two ways. A first method of obtaining PINs from providersis as follows. PINs are purchased by Easywireless.com directly from theproviders. For example, a $10 pre-paid PIN could be purchased fromAIRTOUCH at a wholesale price of $8 and then stored in PIN database 112.In other words, AIRTOUCH sells the PIN to Easywireless.com for $8, andEasywireless.com resells the PIN to the customer for $10. Thus,Easywireless.com would make a $2 profit on the sale of the PIN.

A second method of obtaining and selling PINs is as follows. The PINsare received from various providers at no cost to Easywireless.com.Easywireless.com serves as a warehouse for the PINs. After a PIN is soldto a customer, the payment received from the customer is forwarded tothe appropriate provider, minus a commission for Easywireless.com.

Another feature of the system is the ability to offer discounts.Easywireless.com server 102 can send advertisements and discount offersto the client terminals. Service providers can offer discounts such as“PRE-PAID CELLULAR SERVICE AT 30 CENTS PER MINUTE. CENTS PER MINUTECHEAPER THAN NORMAL RATE!” Providers will be happy to provide suchdiscounts for pre-paid purchase because there are many advantages toselling pre-paid service. The provider does not have to worry that thecustomer won't pay his bills, because the calls are pre-paid. Theprovider does not have to keep track of billing addresses and mailingbills to the customer. The provider gets the money before the call iseven made, and thus earns interest on the money. Because of theseadvantages of pre-paid service, it is often advantageous to providers tooffer a discount for pre-paid purchases.

FIGS. 13-16 depicts a purchase-ordering feature. The purchase orderingfeature is intended to be used by dealers who wish to purchase a batchof various types of PINs, for the purpose of reselling these PINs toindividual customers. The purchase order feature allows a dealer toorder a desired assortment of PINs from different providers of differentdenominations.

FIG. 13 depicts an example of a login screen for allowing a user toenter the purchase ordering system. To enter the purchase orderingsystem, the user must be a registered user. Typically, users of thepurchase ordering system will be dealers who resell the PINs to othercustomers. The dealers can buy PINs in bulk, and thus receive a specialwholesale discount. As an option, in addition to dealers, preferredcustomers could be allowed to use the purchase ordering system. A userenters his or her user name in username field 1302 and enters a passwordin password field 1304. The user then hits the Enter button 1306.

If the user's username and password is recognized as being a registereduser, then the purchase order data entry screen is displayed as shown inFIG. 14. Dealer Information field 1402 displays the name, address, andany other pertinent identifying information of the dealer who has loggedin to the purchase order data entry system. If other customers besidesdealers are allowed to log in to the purchase order data entry system,then field 1402 can be labeled “customer information” or “userinformation.”

Payment method field 1404 displays the payment method and details, suchas credit card information, or ACH wallet, etc. Current balance field1406 displays whether the user has an outstanding balance: i.e. eitherthe dealer owes money to Easywireless.com or has a certain amount ofcredit remaining.

Table 1407 allows the dealer to many individual purchase orders. Eachrow of the table represents one individual purchase order. For example,the dealer can order ten $50 cards from AT&T, and 20 $100 cards fromSprint, and 15 $75 cards from Verizon Wireless, etc.

Carrier column 1408 allows the user to select a unique carrier for eachpurchase order of PINs. Region column 1410 allows the user to select aparticular region for each separate purchase order of PINs. Card typecolumn 1412 allows the user to select a particular card monetarydenomination for each separate purchase order of PINs. Qty column 1414allows the user to select a quantity of cards to purchase for eachseparate purchase order of PINs. Wholesale column 1416 displays thewholesale per-PIN price for each separate purchase order of PINs.

Totals column 1418 displays the total price paid for each purchaseorder. Totals column 1418 field is simply the wholesale column price1416 multiplied by the Qty column 1414. Add/Del column 1420 allows thedealer to confirm the addition of each individual purchase order, or tochange his mind and delete an entered order. Grand total field 1421displays the sum of all the individual totals from each individualpurchase order.

As an example of an individual purchase order, the first row shown inFIG. 14 indicates that the user has selected one order of VerizonWireless PINs for the Northwest region. The dealer has ordered five $30PINs. The dealer is getting a discount, so the dealer only has to pay

$25 for the $30 PIN. The total paid for the dealer for that individualpurchase order is $250.00. If the dealer changes his mind, and wishes toerase this order, he can do so by clicking “DEL.”

If the user wishes to cancel his or her order, the user can click CancelOrder button 1426. If the user wishes to update the price totals shownin column 1418 and field 1421, the user can hit the Update Order button1422. If the user is satisfied with what he or she has entered, then theuser can proceed with the order by clicking the Update Order button1426. This brings up the Purchase Order Summary screen displayed in FIG.15.

The Purchase Order Summary screen shown in FIG. 15 allows the user toreview his or her entire purchase order and check that everything hasbeen entered correctly. If the user wishes to change something, the usercan click Change Purchase Order button 1502. This will take the userback to the Purchase Order Data Entry screen displayed in FIG. 14.

If the user is satisfied with the purchase order summary displayed inFIG. 15, then the user can click Submit P.O. button 1506. The user willautomatically be charged by whatever payment method was previouslyselected (e.g. charged to an on-file credit card, ACH funds transfer,etc.). The user will then get a printed out receipt. A typical receiptis shown in FIG. 17 and will be discussed later.

If the user wishes to pay by an alternate credit card, he or she canclick Pay With Alternate Credit Card 1504. This takes the user to theAlternate Credit Card Payment screen shown in FIG. 16. The user can thenenter credit card information in. the Billing Information fields.

FIG. 18 shows an example of a Prepaid cellular PIN ticket 1800. Ticket1800 is the receipt that is printed out when an individual user orders asingle PIN from Easywireless.com from one of the embodiments shown inFIG. 2 (this receipt is not from the purchase ordering system which hasa more elaborate printout shown in FIG. 17).

FIGS. 19A and 19B depict another example of a database record in PINdatabase 112. This example shows a more detailed record than the examplerecord shown in FIG. 3. Carrier ID fields 1902 contains fields providinginformation pertaining to the individual carrier selected. Carrierregion fields 1904 contains fields providing information pertaining tothe carrier region selected. Promo ID fields 1906 contains informationpertaining to any promotional program(s) that the PIN was purchasedunder. Attributes fields 1908 contains information pertaining to the PINattributes such as the calling cost per minute, PIN expiration, longdistance rate, and roaming rate. Card ID fields 1910 contains variousidentification fields associated with the PIN. PIN ID fields 1912contain fields providing information pertaining to PIN identification.Dealer ID fields 1914 contain information pertaining to the dealer wherethe PIN is purchased. When a PIN is purchased at a dealer, Dealer IDfields 1914 gets filled in with the corresponding dealer information.Sub/kiosk ID fields 1916 contain information pertaining to a kiosk wherethe PIN is purchased. When a PIN is purchased, these fields get filledin with the kiosk information associated with the kiosk where the PINwas purchased. POS Type ID fields 1918 contain additional informationpertaining to kiosk identification. Payment_method ID fields 1920contain information pertaining to the method of payment. Credit Card IDfields 1922 contain credit card information, if the PIN was purchased bycredit card. Lastly, Employee ID fields 1924 contain informationpertaining to an Easywireless.com employee who may have made the PINsale, and any commission, which the employee receives for the sale.

Every PIN in PIN database 112 has its own associated record, as shown inFIGS. 19A and 19B. The records shown in FIGS. 19A and 19B are directedtowards wireless telephone service. However, different types of recordscan be used which are tailored to the product or service being sold,such as gasoline. Each PIN has its own associated record as shown inFIGS. 19A and 19B, even before the PIN is purchased. Every time a newPIN is created in the system, a new record is made. When the PIN ispurchased by a customer or dealer, the information about the sale isfilled in to the appropriate fields in the record, and the record ismarked as sold so that the PIN is not resold to another customer ordealer.

Another alternative feature is selling PINs for bundled goods andservices. Instead of buying a PIN for a specific service, such ascellular telephone service, the customer buys a PIN for general bundledaccount. This PIN could allow the customer to purchase magazines,newspapers, place telephone calls, or ride the subway all using the samePIN.

In addition to selling individual pre-paid goods and services,Easywireless.com could sell bundled pre-paid goods and services.

Referring next to FIG. 20, shown is an overview of a system architectureincorporating a host connection manager 2020 according to one embodimentof the present invention. As shown, the host connection manager 2020 iscommunicatively coupled to the client terminals 2006 _(a-d) via aterminal network 2012, and the host connection manager 2020 communicateswith the server 2002 via network 2004. Also shown is a balancing server2008, which is optionally coupled to the network 2004 to provide a loadbalancing to the server 2002 as described further herein.

The client terminals 2006 _(a-d) are configured to operate in much thesame way as the client terminals 106, 108, 110 described with referenceto FIG. 1, however, the client terminals 2006 _(a-d) in the presentembodiment, communicate with host connection manager 2020 in the sameway the client terminals 106, 108, 110 communicate with the server 102as described with reference to FIG. 1. Similarly, the server 2002 isconfigured to operate in much the same way as the server 102, but theserver 2002 in the present embodiment interacts with the host connectionmanager 2020 in the same way as the server 102 communicates with theclient terminals 106, 108, 110 in the embodiments described withreference to FIG. 1. As one of ordinary skill in the art willappreciate, any of the client terminals described herein may be realizedby a combination of hardware and software which may be implemented in avariety of programmable devices including cell phones and programmabledigital assistants (PDAs).

From the perspective of the server 2002, the host connection manager2020 appears as a client terminal (e.g., as one of the client terminals106, 108, 110). As a consequence, the host connection manager 2020,according to some embodiments, interacts directly with the server 2002to retrieve prepaid PIN information on demand in the same way as theclient terminals 106, 108, 110 interact with the server 102. Althoughcertainly not required, in one embodiment, the server 2002 replenishesits inventory by receiving PINs from service providers, which may becarried out in an automated manner (e.g., whenever the inventory fallsbelow a low-watermark).

The host connection manager 2020, however, does not interact with clerksor sales personnel. Instead, personnel access the client terminals 2006_(a-d), and the client terminals 2006 _(a-d) interact with the hostconnection manager 2020 in order to initiate the retrieval of PINinformation.

In an exemplary embodiment, the terminal network 2012 is a privatenetwork (e.g., a local area network LAN or wide area network (WAN)),which is indirectly coupled to the network 2004 via the host connectionmanager 2020, but this is certainly not required. In other embodimentsfor example, the terminal network 2012 and the network 2004 may be partsof a larger network such as the Internet.

Advantageously, the system architecture of the present embodimentaccommodates client terminals 2006 _(a-d), which communicate accordingto legacy communication protocols that are incompatible with thecommunication protocols utilized by the server 2002. Specifically, thehost connection manager 2020 may be configured to communicate with theclient terminals 2006 _(a-d) according to the communication protocolutilized by the client terminals 2006 _(a-d), and communicate with theserver 2002 according to the communication protocol utilized by theserver 2002. As a consequence, a merchant with a collection of legacyclient terminals may implement a single host connection manager insteadof upgrading the legacy client terminals and/or the infrastructure ofthe associated terminal network.

As one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate, another hostconnection manager may be implemented in parallel with the hostconnection manager 2020 to provide redundancy in the event the hostconnection manager 2020 fails.

As shown in FIG. 20, the optional balancing server 2008 is disposed tocommunicate with the server 2002 via the network 2004. The balancingserver 2008 is coupled to another set of client terminals (not shown)either directly or through another host connection manager (not shown).In several embodiments, the balancing server 2008 operates a separatePIN database from the server 2002 and may be geographically separatedfrom the server 2002 (e.g., in another city), but that is certainly notrequired. In some embodiments, the balancing server 2008 is configuredto act as either a client or a server with respect to the server 2002.Similarly, the server 2002 is configured to appear as either a client ora server from the perspective of the balancing server 2008. In this way,the server 2002 and the balancing server 2008 are able to load balanceeach other.

Specifically, if the server 2002, is unable to fulfill a request for aPIN originating from one of the client terminals 2006 _(a-d) (e.g.,because it has insufficient inventory), the server 2002 acts as a clientand requests the PIN from the balancing server 2008. If the balancingserver has the requested PIN, it sends it to the server 2002. Similarly,if the balancing server 2008 is unable to fulfill a request for a PINoriginating from the other client terminals it supports, the balancingserver acts as a client and requests the PIN from the server 2002. Ifthe server 2002 has the requested PIN, it sends it to the balancingserver 2008. It should be recognized that PINs may also be sent andreceived in batches instead of a single PIN at a time.

In an alternative embodiment, in advance of (or asynchronous with) anyrequests for PINs from client terminals (or host connection managers),the servers 2002, 2008 will contact each other if their respectiveinventory of PINs (e.g. an inventory of PINs corresponding to aparticular offering of a product/service) falls below a low watermarkand each respective server will send PINs to the other server inresponse if it has an inventory of PINs above a high watermark. Thequantity of PINs that differentiates the low watermark from the highwatermark may vary depending upon the profile of each server (e.g., thehistorical volume of PINs each server moves).

The present invention additionally contemplates that there may beseveral merchants with legacy infrastructure, and to accommodate such anoccurrence, a separate host connection manager may be implemented tocommunicate with such legacy devices and/or networks.

As shown in FIG. 21 for example, M host connection managers 2110 _(1-M)are coupled with M respective terminal networks 2120 _(1-M), and each ofthe M terminal networks 2120 _(1-M) is coupled to a respective set of Nclient terminals 2130 _(1-N), 1240 _(1-N), 1250 _(1-N). As aconsequence, the system architecture of the present embodiment allowseach set of the N client terminals 2130 _(1-N), 1240 _(1-N), 1250 _(1-N)(associated with each of the M terminal networks 2120 _(1-M)) tocommunicate according to a different (e.g., proprietary) communicationprotocol with each of the M respective host connection managers 2110_(1-m). As shown, each of the M host connection managers 2110 _(1-m) isconfigured to communicate (via the network 2004) with the server 2002according to the same communication protocol utilized by the server2002.

Referring next to FIG. 22, shown is a schematic diagram of the structureof one embodiment of the host connection managers 2020, 2110 _(1-m)described with reference to FIGS. 20 and 21. As shown, the hostconnection manager (HCM) 2200 includes an HCM controller 2210, which iscoupled to a terminal communication manager 2220, a server communicationmanager 2230 and a PIN cache 2240. In general, the HCM controller 2210controls the operations of the host connection manager 2200, and as oneof ordinary skill in the art will appreciate, the HCM controller 2210may be realized by a combination of hardware and software (e.g., aprocessor which carries out executable code stored in a memory).

In general, the terminal communication manager 2220 is configured tocommunicate with (at the direction of the HCM controller 2210) clientterminals (e.g., client terminals 2006 a-d) according to thecommunication protocols utilized by the client terminals. Similarly, theserver communication manager 2230 is configured to communicate with theserver 2002 (at the direction of the HCM controller 2210) according tothe communication protocols utilized by the server 2002.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the PIN cache 2240 is configuredto store PINs for retrieval upon request by a client terminal (e.g., anyof the client terminals described with reference to FIG. 20 or FIG. 21).In other embodiments, as discussed herein, the host connection manager2200 neither includes a PIN cache 2240 nor stores PINs. Theinteroperation of the HCM controller 2210 with the terminalcommunication manager 2220, the PIN cache 2240 and the servercommunication manager 2230 is described with reference to FIG. 22, whichis a flowchart depicting steps carried out by the host connectionmanager 2200 when interacting with client terminals (e.g., clientterminals 2006 _(a-d)) and the server 2002. It should be recognized thatthe steps illustrated in FIG. 23 are for an exemplary embodiment inwhich the host connection manager 2100 communicates with the server 2002asynchronously with respect to the interactions between client terminalsand the host connection manager. However, this asynchronouscommunication aspect is certainly not required to be implemented withinall embodiments (as discussed further herein).

As shown in FIG. 23, the host connection manager 2200 in the exemplaryembodiment establishes communication with the server 2002, in advance ofreceiving a request for PINs from a client terminal, in order todetermine what offerings (e.g., products and services) the server 2002has available (Step 2302). When there are offerings at the server 2002the host communication manager 2200 is “looking” for (e.g., because itsPIN cache 2240 is low on PINs for the offerings), the host connectionmanager 2100 sends a request for a quantity of PINs corresponding to theofferings. In response to the request for PINs, the server 2002 sendsthe requested quantity of PINs to the host connection manager 2100.These PINS are received at the server communication manager 2230 anddirected to the PIN cache 2240 by the HCM controller 2210 for storage(Step 2306).

As shown in FIG. 23, when a request for a PIN is received from a clientterminal (Step 2308) and the HCM controller 2210 determines that therequested PIN is already in the PIN cache 2240 (Step 2310), the HCMcontroller 2210 retrieves the PIN from the PIN cache 2240, optionallygenerates a formatted receipt in accordance with formatting limitationsof the client terminal (Step 2314), and sends the PIN and optionalformatted receipt to the client terminal (Step 2316).

As one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate, PINs may beassociated with offerings (e.g., product/service, region, denomination)in a variety of ways, and hence, PINs may be requested in a variety ofways. In some embodiments, each PIN is identified and requested by astock keeping unit (SKU) and/or universal product code (UPC), and eachSKU or UPC summarizes an offering of a service/product, a region (i.e.,that the service/product is available or applicable), the provider(e.g., carrier) of the product/service and/or the denomination (e.g.,monetary value). As a consequence, a user's selection may include aparticular product/service, a provider and/or denomination, and in theexemplary embodiment, the user's client terminal 2006 _(a-d) associatesan SKU or UPC with the user's selection. The client terminal 2006 _(a-d)then requests a PIN by its corresponding SKU or UPC number.

Referring again to FIG. 23, if the PIN cache 2240 does not include thePIN for the requested product and/or service (Step 2310), and there isnot a communication link between the host connection manager and theserver 2002 (Step 2318), the HCM controller 2210, in cooperation withthe server communication manager 2230, attempts to establish acommunication link with the server 2002 (Step 2320). If the attempt toestablish a communication link with the server 2002 is unsuccessful(Step 2322), an error message is sent to the client terminal indicatingthat the requested PIN is unavailable (Step 2324). The hostcommunication manager 2200 then aborts the present request, and receivesanother request for a PIN from a client terminal (Step 2308).

If the attempt to establish a communication link with the server 2002 issuccessful (Step 2322), the HCM controller 2210 sends a request (via theserver communication manager 2230) to the server 2002 for the PINcorresponding to the PIN requested by the client terminal (at Step2308). If the host connection manager 2200 is unable to receive the PINfrom the server 2002 (Step 2328), an error message is sent to the clientterminal indicating that the requested PIN is unavailable (Step 2324).The host communication manager 2200 then aborts the present request andreceives another request for a PIN from a client terminal (Step 2308).

If the host connection manager 2200 successfully receives the requestedPIN from the server 2002 (Step 2328), the HCM controller 2210 optionallygenerates a formatted receipt in accordance with formatting limitationsof the client terminal (Step 2314), and sends the PIN and optionalformatted receipt (via the terminal communication manager 2220) to theclient terminal (Step 2316).

One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the hostconnection manager 2200 may be readily adapted to operate without a PINcache 2240. In such an embodiment, when a request from a client terminalfor an offering of a product and/or service (e.g., of a particularmonetary value) is received at the host connection manager 2200, thehost connection manager 2200 requests the PIN from the server 2002, andthe server 2002 provides the PIN, on demand, to the host connectionmanager 2200. In turn, the host connection manager 2200 provides the PINto the client terminal.

Referring next to FIG. 24, shown is an overview of a cooperativeinventory system incorporating a hub 2404 according to one embodiment ofthe present invention. As shown, the hub 2404 is communicatively coupledto each of the servers 2402 a-f via separate connections. Each serverand its respective connection is also referred to herein a spoke.

The servers 2402 a-f are configured to interoperate with clientterminals 106, 108, 110, and/or the host connection managers 21101-M(not shown in FIG. 24) in much the same way as do the servers 102, 2002described with reference to FIG. 1 and FIGS. 20 and 21. The servers 2402a-f in the present embodiment, however, are configured to communicatewith the hub 2404 to implement a cooperative inventory system in whichthe hub 2404 manages an inventory of PINs that is distributed among theservers 2402 _(a-f) and the hub 2404.

In the exemplary embodiment, any client terminal 106, 108, 110, and/orany of the host connection managers 2020, 2110 _(1-m) is able to requesta PIN from any one of the servers 2402 _(a-f). In this way, if one ormore of the servers 2402 _(a-f) go off-line (e.g., for maintenance orbecause of an event causing a failure), another one of the servers 2402_(a-f) is available to fulfill a request for a PIN. In one embodiment,each of the servers 2402 _(a-f) is located in a different geographiclocation (e.g., mutually separated by more than a hundred miles) so thatif a catastrophic event (e.g., earthquake, tornado, hurricane orblizzard) occurs at one or more locations, servers remotely located fromthe event are available to fulfill client terminal transaction requests.Such spatial separation, however, is not required to provide an increasein reliability over other architectures.

In addition to providing an increase in reliability over single-serversystems, the exemplary cooperative inventory system is also configuredto reduce the cost of maintaining an inventory over one or more servers.Specifically, the hub 2404 coordinates the total inventory of PINs sothat each of the servers 2402 _(a-f) has a sufficient, but not an excessamount, of PINs. In this way, the total cost of maintaining an inventoryto meet demands of users is reduced. For example, in a system withindependently operated servers (i.e., without a hub), each server has tomaintain an amount of float (i.e., an extra amount of PINs to preventinventory depletion) to assure the server is able to effect sales (e.g.,when there is an unexpected peak period). With the exemplary system, theoverall amount of float, and hence, cost of goods, is reduced.

In addition, the exemplary system also reduces communication costs withrespect to alternative multi-server embodiments without a hub 2402.Specifically, the amount of communication required in a multi-serversystem without a hub 2404 to synchronize PIN databases (e.g., so thesame PIN does not get distributed to more than one user) and customerdatabases (e.g., so a merchant does not exceed their credit limit) issubstantially higher than in the exemplary system. This is because thehub 2404, as described further herein, is able to operably synchronizeits databases and databases of the servers 2402 _(a-f) without eachserver having to communicate updates with each of the other servers.

Referring next to FIG. 25, shown is a schematic diagram of the structureof one embodiment of the servers 2402 _(a-f) described with reference toFIG. 24. As shown, the server 2402 includes many of the same componentsof the server 102 described with reference to FIG. 1 including RAM 2514,ROM 2516, CPU 2518, and a data storage device 2520. As shown, the datastorage device 2520 contains a dealer database 2510, a personalidentification number (PIN) database 2512, client terminal records 2522,customer records 2523, provider records 2524 and advertising records2526.

The dealer database 2510 includes pertinent identifying informationabout the dealer and information about any accounts the dealer hasestablished (e.g., debit and/or credit accounts). The server 2402 of thepresent embodiment includes a spoke manager server 2528 which isconfigured to request inventory from the hub 2404, return inventory tothe hub 2404, synchronize database information between the server 2402and the hub 2404 and inform the hub 2404 about transactions.

Also shown is a network communication manager 2530, which is configuredto communicate with client terminals 106, 108, 110 and/or hostconnection managers 2020, 2110 _(1-M) in order to provide PINs inresponse to PIN requests and receive other information including, forexample, dealer information, client terminal information and advertisinginformation as previously described.

Referring next to FIG. 26, shown is a schematic diagram of the structureof one embodiment of the hub 2404 described with reference to FIG. 24.As shown, the hub 2404 includes RAM 2614, ROM 2616, a CPU 2618, and adata storage device 2620. The data storage device 120 containscentralized databases 2608 including a central dealer database 2610, acentral personal identification number (PIN) database 2612, centralclient terminal records 2622, central customer records 2623, centralprovider records 2624 and central advertising records 2626.

Also shown is a server communication manager 2630 which is configured torequest inventory from the servers 2402 _(a-f), send inventory to theservers, substantially synchronize databases of the hub 2404 and theservers 2402 a-f and send and receive other information as describedfurther herein.

In the exemplary embodiment, the centralized databases 2608 in the hub2404 are updated on an ongoing basis as the hub 2404 receives newinformation from each of the servers 2402 _(a-f). For example, each ofthe servers 2402 _(a-f) provides updates to the hub 2404 about any newsales to particular dealers, the particular PINs sold, client salesinformation, customer record information, provider records andadvertising record information.

In addition, the hub 2404 periodically propagates at least a portion ofthe information it receives out to each of the servers 2402 _(a-f). Inthis way, the databases at each of the servers 2402 _(a-f) and the hub2404 are at least loosely synchronized. It should be recognized that thedatabases at each of the servers 2402 _(a-f) and the hub 2404 need notbe perfectly synchronized for the system to operate, but it isbeneficial to maintain a sufficient amount of synchronization to preventsystem abuses (e.g., dealers exceeding purchasing limits by interactingwith multiple servers in a short period of time).

One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the servercommunication manager 2630 may be realized by a combination of hardwareand software to carry out the operations described herein (e.g., thememory 2614 may contain executable code which is carried out by the CPU2618 in connection with well-known hardware to provide input/outputfunctionality).

Referring next to FIG. 27, shown is a flowchart 2700 depicting stepscarried out by the server 2402 of FIG. 25 in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention. As shown, after the server 2402 isinitially brought online (Step 2702), the server requests an inventoryof PINs from the hub 2404 (Step 2704). Assuming the hub 2404 responds tothe server's request for inventory, the server receives and stores theinventory of PINs in the PIN database 2512 (Step 2705). In addition, theserver 2402 receives database information from the hub 2404 andpopulates the server databases 2508 (Step 2706).

Once the server 2402 is online, the server is able to receive a requestfor a PIN from a client terminal (or a host connection manager) (Step2708). If the server's 2402 inventory of PINs includes the requested PIN(Step 2710), the PIN is retrieved from inventory and sent to the clientterminal (Steps 2712, 2726). If the server 2402 does not have therequested PIN in its inventory (Step 2710), and the server 2402 has acommunication link with the hub 2404 (Step 2714), the server 2402 sendsa request to the hub 2404 for the requested PIN (Step 2722). If theserver 2402 does not have a communication link with the hub 2404, theserver 2402 attempts to make a connection with the hub 2404 (Step 2716).

If the server 2402 successfully establishes a communication link withthe hub 2404 (Step 2718), then the server 2402 sends a request for thePIN to the hub 2404 (Step 2722). If the server 2402 is unable toestablish a communication link with the hub 2404 (Step 2718), the server2402 returns an error message to the client terminal to inform the userof the failed attempt to fulfill the user's request (Step 2720). If theserver 2402 receives a PIN from the hub 2404 in response to its request(Step 2724), the server sends the PIN to the client terminal (Step2726).

In the exemplary embodiment, the server 2402 periodically sends databaseinformation to the hub 2404 to update the hub's central databases 2608(Step 2728). In this way, the hub 2404 is able to update its centraldatabases 2608 and propagate the updated information to other servers.

As shown in FIG. 27, if the hub 2404 is requesting PINs from the server2402 (Step 2730), and the server 2402 is able to fulfill the hub'srequest for the PINs from its inventory (Step 2732), the server 2402sends the requested PINs to the hub 2404 (Step 2734). If the server 2402does not have sufficient inventory to fulfill the hub's 2404 request(Step 2732), the server 2402 sends an error report to the hub 2404 (Step2736). In one embodiment, a high-watermark is established for each ofthe PINs (e.g., for each SKU or UPC) at the server 2402, and the server2402 only provides PINs above its high-watermark.

In the exemplary embodiment, if the server 2402 is going offline (e.g.,for maintenance) (Step 2738), the server 2402 may send its inventory ofPINs to the hub 2404 (Step 2740). As discussed, while the server 2402 isoffline, client terminals are able to contact other servers that areonline to receive PINs. When the server 2402 is brought back online(Step 2702), the server 2402 requests and receives PINs from the hub2404 (Steps 2704, 2705) so that the server 2402 is again ready toreceive requests for PINs from client terminals.

If the server's 2402 inventory is low (e.g., one more SKUs or UPC codesdrops to a low-watermark) (Step 2742), the server 2402 requestsadditional PINs from the hub 2404 (Step 2704), and if the hub 2404fulfills the request, the server 2402 receives and stores the PINs (Step2706).

Referring next to FIG. 28, shown is a flowchart depicting steps carriedout by the hub 2404 of FIG. 26 according to an exemplary embodiment. Asshown in FIG. 28, the inventory of PINs is initially loaded into the PINdatabase 2612 of the hub 2404 (Step 2802).

The hub 2404 is optionally linked (e.g., the Internet or othercommunication link) with one or more service providers. In such anembodiment, the hub 2404 may receive the inventory of PINS directly fromservice providers.

As previously discussed, when one of the servers' 2402_(a-f) inventoryof a particular variety of PIN is low (e.g., below a low-watermark), theserver sends a request for a PIN (e.g., a request for one or more PINswith a SKU or UPC matching the variety sought), which is received by thehub 2404 (Step 2804). If the hub 2404 has an inventory of PINs matchingthe requested variety in the central PIN database 2612 (Step 2806), thehub 2404 retrieves a quantity of the requested PINs from the central PINdatabase 2612 (Step 2808) and sends the quantity of PINs to therequesting server (Step 2822). If the hub 2404 has an insufficientinventory of PINs to fulfill the requesting server's request (Step2806), and the hub 2404 does not have a communication link establishedwith another server (Step 2810), the hub 2404 attempts to make aconnection with another server (Step 2814). If the hub 2404 is unable tomake a connection with one or more of the other servers (Step 2814), thehub 2404 sends a message back informing the requesting server that itsrequest cannot be fulfilled (Step 2816).

If the hub 2404 successfully makes a connection with one or more otherservers (Step 2814), the hub 2404 sends a request to the other server(s)for one or more PINs of the variety sought by the requesting server(Step 2818) (e.g., by requesting one or more PINs with the SKU numbercorresponding to the variety sought). If the hub 2404 does not receivePINs of the variety sought (e.g., because the other server(s) do nothave available inventory of the variety of PIN sought or becausecommunications fail), hub 2404 sends a message back informing therequesting server that its request cannot be fulfilled (Step 2816). Whenthe hub 2404 receives PINs of the variety sought from one or more of theother servers (Step 2820), the hub 2404 provides at least a portion ofthe PINs it received to the requesting server (Step 2822).

It should be recognized that the hub 2404 may attempt to connect withjust one server or any number of the servers 2402 _(a-f) in parallelwhen it does not have an inventory of PINs matching the varietyrequested by another server. If several servers 2402 _(a-f) arecontacted in parallel, the hub 2404 may request that each of the servers2402 _(a-f) contribute a particular number of PINs (e.g., an excessnumber of PINs above their high-watermark) or a percentage of theirinventory of the requested variety.

In the exemplary embodiment, the hub 2404 receives information on anongoing basis from each the servers 2402 _(a-f) (Step 2824). Thisinformation received from each of the servers 2402 is used by the hub2404 to update its central databases 2608 (Step 2826). This informationmay include, without limitation, one or more of the following: theparticular PINs distributed, number of PINs by variety (e.g., by SKU,UPC, provider and/or denomination) that each server has distributed, thenumber and type of advertisements presented (if any), as well as asummary and detail of transactions made with each dealer, each clientterminal and each customer. It should be recognized that suchinformation may be received from the each of the servers 2402 _(a-f)asynchronously (i.e., each of the servers 2402 _(a-f) may send batchesof updates periodically based on a time or activity basis).

As the hub 2404 receives information and updates its central databases(Steps 2824, 2826), it periodically sends update information to theservers 2402 a-f (Step 2828). In the exemplary embodiment, the updateinformation sent from the hub 2404 substantially synchronizes thecentral databases 2608 with the corresponding server databases 2508. Aspreviously discussed, the server databases 2508 at each of the servers2402 a-f and the central databases 2608 at the hub 2404 need not beperfectly synchronized for the system to operate, but it is beneficialto maintain a sufficient amount of synchronization to prevent systemabuses.

If the hub 2404 is going offline (Step 2830) (e.g., for maintenance), inthe exemplary embodiment, the hub 2404 distributes its inventory of PINsto one or more of the servers 2402 _(a-f)

(Step 2832). In one embodiment, when the hub is back online (Step 2834),the hub reclaims from the servers 2402 _(a-f) at least a portion of theinventory it previously dispersed (Step 2836). For example, the hub 2404may reclaim only the inventory from the servers 2402 _(a-f) that isabove each server's respective high-watermark. In other embodiments,however, the hub 2404 does not resynchronize the inventory of PINs whenit is back online.

While the invention herein disclosed has been described by means ofspecific embodiments and applications thereof, numerous modificationsand variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention set forth in the claims. Forexample, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate thatthe host connection manager 2200 and hub 2402 depicted in FIGS. 22 and26 may be realized by a combination of hardware implemented according toa variety of architectures to carry out the functions and stepsdescribed with reference to FIGS. 22 and 23 and FIGS. 26, 27 and 28respectively. Moreover, the inventive aspects of the present inventionmay be combined with many of the aspects of the above-identifiedco-pending application described with reference to FIGS. 1-19.

1. A system for distributing personal identification numbers (PINs)comprising: a plurality of client terminals, each of said plurality ofclient terminals being capable of requesting and receiving PINs; aplurality of servers operatively coupled to said plurality of clientterminals, each of said servers including a corresponding one of aplurality of PIN inventories, wherein each of said servers is capable ofsending PINs to at least one of said plurality of client terminals; anda hub operatively coupled to each of said servers, wherein said hub isconfigured to send a first quantity of PINs to a first of said pluralityof servers for inclusion within a first PIN inventory of the first ofsaid plurality of servers, and a second quantity of PINs to a second ofsaid plurality of servers for inclusion within a second PIN inventory.2. The system of claim 1 wherein said plurality of servers aregeographically dispersed.
 3. The system of claim 1 wherein each of saidplurality of servers is configured to send PINs to said hub.
 4. Thesystem of claim 3 wherein at least one of said plurality of servers isconfigured to send PINs to said hub in anticipation of going offline. 5.The system of claim 1 wherein said hub is configured to request aquantity of PINs from at least one of said plurality of servers inresponse to another of said plurality of servers requesting at leastsaid quantity of PINs.
 6. The system of claim 1 wherein said hubincludes a central dealer database and each of said plurality of serversincludes a corresponding one of a plurality of dealer databases, andwherein said hub is configured to synchronize said central dealerdatabase with said plurality of dealer databases so that each of saidplurality of dealer databases includes substantially current dealerinformation.
 7. The system of claim 1 wherein said hub includes acentral PIN inventory including a plurality of PIN varieties.
 8. Thesystem of claim 7 wherein said hub is configured to distribute PINs insaid central PIN inventory to at least one of said plurality of serversin advance of said hub going offline.
 9. The system of claim 1 whereineach of said plurality of servers tracks a quantity of at least one of aplurality of PIN varieties and requests additional quantities of said atleast one of said plurality of PIN varieties in response to saidquantity of said at least one of said plurality of PIN varieties fallingbelow a low-watermark.
 10. A method for distributing personalidentification numbers (PINs) through a distribution network including aplurality of servers, each of said servers being operatively coupled toat least one of a plurality of client terminals, the method comprising:receiving at a hub, from one of said plurality of servers, a request fora quantity of PINs; sending from said hub said quantity of PINs to saidone of said plurality of servers wherein each of said plurality ofservers is configured to send PINs to at least one of said plurality ofclient terminals; requesting another quantity of PINs from another oneof said plurality of servers; and receiving at said hub said otherquantity of PINs from said other one of said plurality of servers. 11.The method of claim 10 wherein said requesting is in response to saidreceiving, from said one of said plurality of servers, said request forsaid quantity of PINs, and wherein said quantity of PINs are obtainedfrom said other quantity of PINs thereby moving said quantity of PINsfrom said other one of said plurality of servers to said one of saidplurality of servers.
 12. The method of claim 11 wherein said requestfor a quantity of PINS from said one of said plurality of servers is inresponse to an inventory of PINs at said one of said plurality ofservers falling below a low-watermark, and wherein said receiving saidother quantity of PINs from said other one of said plurality of serversis in response to another inventory of PINs at said other one of saidplurality of servers being above a high-watermark.
 13. The method ofclaim 10 including sending, in advance of said hub going offline, aninventory of PINs from said hub to at least one of said plurality ofservers.
 14. The method of claim 10 including receiving from said one ofsaid plurality of servers, in advance of said one of said plurality ofservers going offline, an inventory of PINs from said one of saidplurality of servers.
 15. A method for managing an inventory of PINs ina PIN distribution network, the distribution network including a hubcoupled to a plurality of servers, each of said servers coupled to atleast one of a plurality of client terminals, the method comprising:dynamically allocating PINs of said inventory of PINs among saidplurality of servers so as to substantially maintain a quantity of PINsat each server at a desired level for each server; and acquiringadditional PINs at the hub in response to at least one PIN in saidinventory being distributed to at least one user from at least one ofsaid plurality of client terminals.
 16. The method of claim 15including: maintaining a central dealer database at said hub,synchronizing said central dealer database with each of a plurality ofdealer databases located at a corresponding one of said plurality ofservers so as to maintain substantially the same dealer information ateach of said plurality of servers as is present at said hub.
 17. Themethod of claim 15 wherein said dynamically allocating includesreceiving a portion of said inventory located at one of said pluralityof servers and sending said portion of said inventory to another of saidplurality of servers.
 18. The method of claim 17 wherein said receivingis in response to said one of said plurality of servers going offline.19. The method of claim 17 wherein the sending is in response to saidquantity of PINs at said other of said plurality of servers fallingbelow said desired level for said other of said plurality of servers.20. The method of claim 15 wherein said dynamically allocating includessending a portion of said inventory from said hub to at least one ofsaid plurality of servers.
 21. The method of claim 20 wherein saidsending said portion of said inventory is in response to said hub goingoffline.
 22. The method of claim 20 wherein said sending said portion ofsaid inventory is in response to said quantity of PINs at said at leastone of said plurality of servers falling below said desired level forsaid at least one of said plurality of servers.
 23. A system formanaging an inventory of PINs in a PIN distribution network, thedistribution network including a hub coupled to a plurality of servers,each of said servers coupled to at least one of a plurality of clientterminals, the system comprising: means for dynamically allocating PINsof said inventory of PINs among said plurality of servers so as tosubstantially maintain a quantity of PINs at each server at a desiredlevel for each server; and means for acquiring additional PINs at thehub in response to at least one PIN in said inventory being distributedto at least one user from at least one of said plurality of clientterminals.
 24. The system of claim 23 including: means for maintaining acentral dealer database at said hub, means for synchronizing saidcentral dealer database with each of a plurality of dealer databaseslocated at a corresponding one of said plurality of servers so as tomaintain substantially the same dealer information at each of saidplurality of servers as is present at said hub.
 25. The system of claim23 wherein said means for dynamically allocating includes means forreceiving a portion of said inventory located at one of said pluralityof servers and means for sending said portion of said inventory toanother of said plurality of servers.
 26. The system of claim 25 whereinsaid means for receiving includes means for receiving said portion ofsaid inventory in response to said one of said plurality of serversgoing offline.
 27. The system of claim 25 wherein said means for sendingincludes means for sending said portion of said inventory in response tosaid quantity of PINs at said other of said plurality of servers fallingbelow said desired level for said other of said plurality of servers.28. The system of claim 23 wherein said means for dynamically allocatingincludes means for sending a portion of said inventory from said hub toat least one of said plurality of servers.
 29. The system of claim 28wherein said means for sending said portion of said inventory includesmeans for sending said portion of said inventory in response to said hubgoing offline.
 30. The system of claim 28 wherein said means for sendingsaid portion of said inventory includes means for sending said portionof said inventory in response to said quantity of PINs at said at leastone of said plurality of servers falling below said desired level forsaid at least one of said plurality of servers.
 31. A method ofdistributing a personal identification number (PIN) through a clientterminal, comprising: generating, at a server, a request for a PIN;transmitting said request for said PIN from the server to a hub;receiving said PIN at said server from said hub; receiving, at saidserver, a client request for said PIN, wherein said client request isgenerated at said client terminal and transmitted to said server; andsending said PIN to said client terminal in response to said clientrequest.
 32. The method of claim 31 wherein said generating is initiatedin response to a PIN inventory of said server not having said PIN. 33.The method of claim 32 wherein said generating is in advance of thereceiving of said client request at said server.
 34. The method of claim33 including: receiving, at said server, a hub request for another PIN,wherein said hub request is generated at said hub and transmitted tosaid server; and sending said other PIN to said hub.
 35. The method ofclaim 31 including: sending, in advance of going offline, PINs in a PINinventory at said server to said hub.